Paleolithic superior

The Paléolithique superior is the period of the Préhistoire which is characterized by the arrival of the modern Homme in Europe, the development of novel methods (blades, osseous industry, Propulseur, etc) and the explosion of the prehistoric Art. It ranges between 35.000 and 10.000 years before our era and corresponds at the end of the last Glacial period. It is preceded by the Paléolithique means and is followed Mesolithic .

The Paleolithic superior begins on arrival in Europe from the modern Man ( Homo sapiens ). Come from the East (the Middle East, Asia or Africa?), it benefitted from a temporary improvement of the climate towards - 35.000 to colonize Europe. It cohabits with the Homme of Néandertal until the extinction of this last towards -30.000 in Spain. The existence of Métissage S between the two species was evoked but was not really shown. The reasons of the extinction of the Man of Néandertal are not known precisely (see Homme of Néandertal).

Climatic and environmental context

To the Paleolithic superior, the Climat is generally rigorous with hotter episodes. The north of France is occupied by the Toundra - a ground deprived of trees and cover of lichens and foams - to which succeeds, while going down towards the South, the Taïga - not very thick forest made up of pines and dwarf birches. In the sheltered valleys, during the most moderated climatic episodes, one finds Feuillu S.

This not very dense vegetation is the kingdom of the herbivores: Aurochs - an ancestor of big size of our cows -, Horse, Rhinoceros woolly, Mammoth, Bison, Saïga. During the most cold episodes the Renne S. All these herbivores abound are driven out by two competitor carnivores of the man: the Lion of the caves and the Hyena.

The Brown bear and the Ours of the caves occupy the wooded valleys.

At the beginning of this period, the man drives out these animals with Sagaie S or by trapping them; the arc will appear towards - 17.000 (discovery of points flint in the cave of Parpallo in Spain, dated 17000BC, Muséum of prehistory, Valence)

The Homo sapiens , whose most known representative is the Homme of Cro-Magnon, brings in all Europe of the practices completely different from those of its predecessors. Its lithic Industrie is based on the production of glare S lengthened, blades and plates, which are used as a basis for the realization of tools diversified: Scraper S, gravers, points of projectiles, reinforcements, etc

Principal subdivisions

Several cultures will follow one another during the Paleolithic superior:
  • the Aurignacien (- 38 000 with - 29.000) is characterized by its Sagaie S with the points of bone and its parietal and movable artistic production. It is the time of the Grotte Chauvet (illustration opposite), which illustrates well the jump made by the modern Man compared to his predecessor who did not leave any artistic production of this importance.
  • the Gravettien (- 29.000 with - 22.000) is known for its statuettes with the particularly exacerbated female forms, called “Venus”.
  • the Protomagdalénien (- 20.000 with - 18.000), which finishes the cycle gravettien, is known for its lithic industry characterized by gravers dihedral, often multiple, plates with back and blades with final improvement " composite" said protomagdalénienne.
  • the Solutréen corresponds to the period of the glacial maximum (- 22 000 with - 18.500). The North of France is undoubtedly given up by the man. This culture is specific to the South-west of France and Spain. It is characterized by a particularly sophisticated size of flint (production of sheets of bay-tree) and an original parietal art which one finds in the Grotte Cosquer whose entry was with the free air during this period of marine regression. The needle with eye and the Propulseur are invented at that time.
  • the Badegoulien also corresponds to the glacial maximum (- 17.000 with - 15.000). It meets on the whole of the free-Cantabric zone (south-western of France and Cantabres), like on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Some indices are announced sporadically in Switzerland and Germany. This facies corresponds to the old denomination “old Magdalénien” and is characterized by a cutting up on glares and tools dominated by the scrapers and the tools " archaïques" (notches, dentils, esquillées parts and scrapers), with the detriment of the gravers and the plates with rarer backs.
  • the culture of the Magdalénien develops - 17.000 with - 10.000 and coincides with one period of warming crossed of relapses. The engine spreads, the man discovers the harpoon. This culture is famous for its movable Art and its parietal Art, whose most beautiful known works were discovered in the cave of Lascaux.

The Paleolithic superior is completed with the disappearance of the reindeer and the woolly rhinoceros due to the warming; it is the end of the culture of the Magdalénien. The return of the forest involves changes on the level of the armament (microlithisation of the reinforcements, generalization of the arc) which characterize the Épipaléolithique then the Mesolithic .

See too

Random links:Business of the poisons | The Exchanger | Convertible (armchair) | Inside (film) | Lee McConnell | Cleodaeus